I'm a wife, mother and step-mother. It took over 10 years and many procedures but we finally have our miracle.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

First (and hopefully last until January) Visit to Labor and Delivery

Baby’s fine and I’m fine but
I had a scary couple of hours last Friday night.Before I get to that I want to thank you all
for your advice and for putting my fears
about measuring behind to rest.I always
tell people to not worry until they have something to worry about and I need to
follow my own advice.I’m not going to
fret (too much) about it until my next appointment where hopefully things will
have evened out some.And thanks for the
advice on the bottles and other items.It’s still so strange to be discussing these things with all of
you.But I’m very grateful that I’m at
this point.I put some bottles and a
pump on my registry and we’ll see how it goes.If baby girl doesn’t like them then we’ll try another brand.I thought it would be wise to start with just
the essentials…a few small and a few larger bottles just to see how it goes.

On to Friday night:

Actually, it started
Thursday.BJ, the Little Guy and I went
to an outdoor event Thursday night that involved a lot of walking.It was very leisurely walking for the most
part but there were a couple of times that we walked pretty fast.I started getting some cramps so I slowed
down and then we took a break and sat for about 30 minutes.All in all I had been on my feet for over 3
hours.The cramps I experienced were
quite different from my usual RLP (round ligament pain) that I’ve been having
the entire pregnancy.These were sharp
and really low (like down by my pubic bone) and they extended into my lady
parts.They went away and I didn’t give
them much more thought as I just chalked it up to overdoing it.Friday at work I started to get them
again.The pains were really sharp, like
stop me in my tracks sharp, and they continued to extend to my nether
regions.I was sitting for about 3 hours
working on a project so I know it wasn’t happening because I was walking too
much.But again, they came and went with
no real pattern.Then I had them on the
bus on the way home.Then I had them at
dinner.Then I had them while relaxing
on the couch after dinner.BJ was a
little worried and thought maybe I should call the answering service.I debated on that because as always, I don’t want
to be the crazy infertile pregnant lady that has to go to the doctor for every
little pain.But then I started
wondering if the cramps were caused by my cervix dilating and then real worry
started to set in.I called the
answering service and the on call doctor (not mine) called me back almost
immediately.I described the pain and
was asked a bunch of questions about my activity, if I was coughing, if the
pains were at regular intervals etc.After talking with him he thought it would be best to go to L&D and
just make sure things were fine.To say
that I had an out of body experience at that moment is an understatement.I told BJ that he didn’t have to come (it was
10:00pm, after all) but of course he insisted.I was foolish to even suggest I go alone but like I said, I was not
thinking clearly and was feeling like it was a bad dream at this point.All the thoughts that were in my head were
all bad and on the short drive to the hospital I felt like I was floating along
completely out of control.I just wanted
her to be ok.I kept apologizing to BJ
about his truck getting dirty (it was raining and he had just washed it) and
just staring out the window not sure what to do with myself.

He dropped me off at the
entrance to the ER because that is the first step.I was worried that we’d be there all night
because the ER for our hospital is always crowded and always very slow.I was wrong.After checking in at the front desk (and trying to explain to the lady
that we did IVF and that I had no idea when my LMP was but that we had
retrieval on 5/3 and my due date is 1/24 and I’m 23 weeks and 1 day pregnant…she
still did the math wrong and messed up the LMP date) we were sent straight to
L&D.We were a bit lost but found
our way and were buzzed in and I handed my papers over and was shown straight
into a birthing room and given a warm gown to put on.I changed and explained to the nurse what was
happening and why I was worried.She was
so nice and understanding and put us right at ease.I had to give a urine and blood sample and
was hooked up to the fetal monitor and the contraction monitor.Baby girl’s heart rate worried me because it
started out in the 130’s and then went up to her usual 140’s.The nurse looked at the print out and said
that it was perfectly normal for that to happen and that by judging from the
heart rate and her movements (which were constant) that I was carrying a beautiful
baby and that baby girl is very happy.That
warmed my heart.I had the pain again
and made note of the time so that I could tell the nurse upon her return.Then I had to pee again.BJ got up and went searching to find someone
to make sure it was ok that I unhooked everything.He was standing by the baby warmer and picked
up the little hat and showed it to me. He was smitten.He asked if that is where they put the baby
after I have it and I told him yes.I
said that you just stay in the same room to deliver and then the baby gets
checked out over there in the warmer and then we pretty much stay in that
room.He was confused by that because he
has never experience that before.The Little
Guy was a scheduled C-section so he had no idea.He thought it was pretty cool.The fetal monitor picked up everything baby
girl was doing.We had a good time listening
to her move and then BJ could hear her big kicks, of which there were
many.At one point the nurse saw my
belly jump when she kicked.Listening to
her and feeling her move around was definitely comforting to us.

Anyway, when the nurse
returned she checked the print out and at the time I had the pain I did not
have a contraction.Yay!And then my blood and urine came back all
normal (they never did check my cervix) and I was free to go.We were in and out in just over an hour.I felt so relieved that we went and that we
had a good experience and that everything appears to be fine.I told the nurse that I didn’t want to see
her again until January and she said the same thing.

It was very scary but it
turned out well and that is what I’m going to focus on.I had a good experience with the staff and
was comfortable and was not made to feel like I was overreacting.What could have been a very bad night ended
on the great high of knowing that as of right now, our baby girl is doing just
fine and everything is as it should be.

8 comments:

I'm so happy she turned out to be just fine! I forbid any more L&D visits before January and you can tell the little miss that =) It's great that you got a little experience with the hospitals nursing staff and were pleased with the care they gave you.

I am very relieved to read that all is well, and can empathize with how scared you felt at the time. I'm hoping that the next time you go to L&D is weeks after you've seen Santa. Without saying that this was a good thing that happen (because you certainly DON'T deserve to be scared like that), but it's nice that you now have a sense of what happens in L&D, and that you now know one of the nurses. It will help you create a sense of where you will be in january on that most important day. You're doing so well, TeeJay. Almost at viability!!!

p.s. thank you so much for your ongoing support. Your comments on my blog are always so kind and thoughtful.

So glad everything is ok, and good for you for calling the service and going in to get checked out. Better to be overly cautious at this point.

I must have missed the last post, or brain farted or something but I wanted to add my 2 cents about baby supplies. Don't buy too much of any one bottle, every baby prefers different ones. My girl liked the Dr. Browns wide nipple, after trying Avent and something else I don't remember the name of. The Dr. Browns are sort of a pain, there is more to wash, and you really need to wash all those little tubes with little brushes, but hey, it is only for an year then you are done. I also really liked the My Breast Friend nursing pillow, lots of burp cloths, and Swaddle Me wraps with velcro. I could never get the swaddle tight enough with just a sheet-style. I'm sure there is more, but you will also do a lot of trial and error and find what works best for you and the girl.

Phew, I'm glad you are okay and that the pains aren't contractions. Maybe the little girl is just lying on something that causes pain. Either way, remember to lie down enough during the day. It's so easy to forget that your body is working hard just sitting still...but I think our bodies are also good at telling us when to slooow down. Have fun outfitting the nursery...it's one of the best parts of the pregnancy!

I had a couple of times when I had these stabbing pains into my pelvis - it felt like into the walls of my vagina. Enough to stop me from taking a next step. But never anything as frequent or constant as it sounds like you had.

So glad that everything is ok!!! I know it's scary when weird things happen in that body of yours, now that it's occupied by a cute little one. But so nice that you were treated so well by the staff!!!

About Me

I'm a married woman in my 30's. I'm trying to navigate my ship into uncharted waters...Motherhood! Care to come along for the ride? I hope you don't get sea sick!
You can e-mail me at tambo518 at gmail dot com

My Journey

August 2000 - starting TTC with husband 1August 2001 - both checked, both fineMarch-May 2002 - 3 BFN with clomidJune 2002 - consult with RE, plan for IUI, no insurance coverage therefore no proceduresJuly 2002-Feb 2005 - TTC naturally with no luckMarch 2005-Sept 2005- single, no need to TTC taking BCPMay 2006 - No more BCP with new manOct-Nov 2008 - New round of testing with RE, both checked, both fine, plan for IUI with new insurance helpDec 2008-Jan 2009 - IUI canceled due to functioning cystFeb 2009 - IUI #1: Gonal-F, Ovidrel = BFNMarch 2009 - IUI #1: Gonal-F, Ovidrel = BFNApril-June 2009 - IVF #1 - BCP failed to diminish cyst, held on Lupron too long and only produced 2 follies, cycle canceled and switched to timed intercourse - BFNJuly 2009 - IVF #1, Take 2 - BCP for 10 days, started stimming with Gonal-F, Menopur on 6/28 - ER set for 7/7 with 5 follies!July 7, 2009 - 4 eggs, 3 mature, 2 fertilized normallyJuly 10, 2009 - 2 8-cell embroyos transferred...beta set for 7/24!!July 21 2009 - HPT reported a BFN, the biggest BFN I have ever seen.July 24, 2009 - Confirmed negative beta....complete sadnessAugust 2009 - Begin a more natural approach to babymaking...we'll see where it takes usJanuary 2011 - Decided to take the bull by the horns and will attempt to be approved for Shared Risk IVF...we just can't give up yet. RE appointment set for February 10...fingers crossed.February 2011 - Denied the Shared Risk program but going ahead with one final attempt at a biological child and doing a single cycle IVF. Please, oh please, let this work.April/May 2011 - Got 5 mature eggs, 3 fertilized normally and we transfered 2 "ok" embryos (blast, early blast) on day 5. BFP - first ever after 10 years of trying at 8dp5dt. Beta was only 38 at 12dp5dt and then fell to 30.5.May-December 2011 - Grieve our loss and try to put the pieces back together.January 2012 - Decide to try Shared Risk Donor Eggs!! First appointment with RE is set for January 31!February 2012 - Selected our donor and the very next day the match was complete! Waiting for treatment calendar from clinic and then we are off and running!April 2012 - I will begin Lupron April 6 and our donor's ER set for May 3!May 2012 - Our donor produced 10 eggs for us, 9 of which fertilized! We transferred one perfectly graded (4AA) 5-day blast on May 8 and were able to freeze 4 embryos. All frozen embryos are graded (4AB). Beta set for 5/21. BFP on hpt on 5/18 - my birthday!5/21 - 1st beta - 804 (13dp5dt)5/23 - 2nd beta - 17415/25 - 3rd beta - 3830